Educational equity: discrimination prevention coordinators.

Header changed from enrolled bill format (with Senate/Assembly passage dates and signature lines) to chaptered law format showing 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL' and 'CHAPTER 429'.

Governor approval line added: 'Approved by Governor October 7, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State October 7, 2025.'

Line-wrapping and indentation changes throughout the legislative counsel's digest and section text; no words were added, removed, or altered in the substantive provisions.

The entire immigration enforcement section (proposed Section 234.8 of the Education Code) was removed. This had prohibited local educational agencies from granting immigration authorities access to nonpublic school areas, producing pupils for questioning, consenting to searches, or disclosing student/family/employee information without a valid judicial warrant or court order.

The legislative findings and declarations regarding threats to immigrant families, school attendance impacts, and the need to protect attendance-based school funding were all removed.

The bill title changed from covering both 'immigration enforcement' and 'educational equity' to covering only 'educational equity,' reflecting the removal of the immigration component.

The requirement that the Attorney General publish model policies to assist K-12 schools in responding to immigration issues was removed along with the rest of the immigration enforcement provisions.

The urgency clause was removed. The bill will no longer take effect immediately upon approval but will follow the standard January 1 effective date.

New defined term 'immigration authority' means any federal, state, or local officer, employee, or person performing immigration enforcement functions. This is broader than the original language which only referenced ICE officers and other federal officials.

New defined term 'schoolsite' includes an individual school campus, an area where a school-sponsored activity is currently being held, or a schoolbus or other transportation provided by a local educational agency. This expands protections beyond just the physical school building to include buses and off-campus events.

The prohibition on schools is restructured from a single ban on granting campus access without a warrant into three specific prohibited actions: (A) granting permission to access a schoolsite, (B) producing a pupil for questioning at a schoolsite, or (C) consenting to a search of any kind at a schoolsite. Each now requires a valid judicial warrant or court order.

New procedural duties when an immigration authority presents a valid warrant: school personnel must request and retain the officer's valid identification and written statement of purposes, and notify the designated local educational agency administrator as early as possible, advising the immigration authority that the administrator must provide direction before access is granted.

New procedural duties when an immigration authority appears without a valid warrant: school personnel must notify the designated administrator as early as possible, deny access, and make a reasonable effort to have the denial witnessed and documented.

The Attorney General is now required to publish model policies to assist K-12 schools in responding to immigration issues pursuant to the new section's requirements.

The information disclosure prohibition is expanded to explicitly include personal information as defined in Civil Code Section 1798.3(a), a pupil's home address, and a pupil's travel schedule. It also clarifies that disclosure pursuant to a valid warrant satisfies FERPA parent notification requirements under 34 CFR 99.31(a)(9)(ii).

A new exemption in the Education Code section clarifies that nothing prohibits any governmental entity from sending or receiving immigration status information pursuant to federal law (8 U.S.C. Sections 1373 and 1644).

Legislative findings are expanded to include a new finding about keeping educational resources focused on providing stable learning environments, language stating schools are 'not in the business of immigration enforcement,' and a new finding about aligning state law with Attorney General guidance and model policies.

Four new Education Code sections (33803.2-33803.5) require the Office of Civil Rights to employ a Religious Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, a Race and Ethnicity Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, a Gender Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, and an LGBTQ Discrimination Prevention Coordinator.

The bill's title and digest were expanded to reflect that it now covers both immigration enforcement protections for schoolsites AND educational equity through discrimination prevention coordinators.

Each of the four coordinators must be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.

A new Section 5 makes the operation of the discrimination prevention coordinator provisions contingent upon AB 715 of the 2025-26 Regular Session being enacted and becoming effective on or before January 1, 2026.

Additional coauthors (Senators Weber Pierson; Assembly Members Fong and Ward) were added, and the fiscal note for state-mandated local program was updated from 'yes' to 'yes no.'

The entire proposed amendment to Government Code Section 7284.6 (California Values Act) was deleted. This section would have prohibited California law enforcement agencies from collaborating with or providing information about pupils, families, school employees, or teachers to immigration authorities regarding enforcement actions within one mile of a schoolsite.

The prohibition on granting access to immigration authorities was narrowed from covering the entire 'schoolsite' to only 'the nonpublic areas of a schoolsite.' Public areas of a schoolsite are no longer protected under this provision.

Coauthors were added: Senator Becker, and Assembly Members Addis and Lowenthal.

A 'to the extent possible' qualifier was added before the prohibition on granting access, producing pupils, or consenting to searches. This weakens what was previously an absolute prohibition into a best-efforts requirement.

The requirement that disclosure of a pupil's education records or personal information also needed the written consent of the pupil's parent or legal guardian was removed. Now only a valid judicial warrant or court order is required for such disclosures.

A new definition of 'immigration enforcement' was added, covering efforts to investigate, enforce, or assist in enforcement of any federal civil immigration law and any federal criminal immigration law penalizing a person's presence, entry, reentry, or employment in the United States.

References to 'United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, or other federal official engaging in immigration related investigation or enforcement' were replaced with the broader term 'immigration authority,' which is defined to include any federal, state, or local officer performing immigration enforcement functions. This broadens who is covered by the restrictions.

The search prohibition was narrowed from 'a search of any kind at a schoolsite' to 'a search of any kind at the nonpublic areas of a schoolsite.'

A new severability clause was added as Section 3, providing that if any provision of the act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

Existing sections were renumbered: the state mandates reimbursement provision moved from Section 3 to Section 4, and the urgency statute declaration moved from Section 4 to Section 5.